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RAPA 
NUI
ORIGINS OF
CIVILIZATION
1205
LLM-INGLÉS
FLL-UAQ
MTRA. CARMEN
TATAY FDEZ.
GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
 THE EASTERN ISLAND, IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC SEA MIDWAY
BETWEEN TAHITI AND SOUTH AMERICA.
 IT IS A 69 SQUARE MILES REMOTE TERRITORY; OFFICIALLY IT
BELONGS TO CHILE. 
 IT IS THE EASTERNMOST POLYNESIAN ISLAND; IT LIES 2,300 
MILES WEST OF CHILE AND 1,300 MILES EAST OF THE
PITCAIRN ISLAND.
 THE ENGLISH NAME IS EASTERN ISLAND (ISLA DE PASCUA).
 THE POLYNESIAN NAME IS RAPA NUI (“THE GRAND ISLAND”).
 THE NATIVES CALLED IT TE PITO O TE HENUA THAT MEANS
“THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD”.
 MAIN GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
1. VOLCANIC ORIGIN ISLAND, TRIANGULAR SHAPE.
2. STEPPED SLOPES AND ROCKY COASTLINE
3. THERE ARE 3 FRESHWATER CRATER LAKES
_RANO_
4. SUBTROPICAL MARINE CLIMATE, FREQUENT RAINS
5. DEFORESTATION TO CREATE AGRICULTURAL
LANDS, TREELESS (PALMS) AND SOIL EROSION.
 MAIN CITIES: 
HANGA ROA, HATU HI, OROI (SACRED VILLAGE), 
ORONGO, POIKE, RANO RARANKU (QUARRY), VAIHU.
LAKES IN THE CRATERS
CHRONOLOGY
MAIN PERIODS
I. ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST POLYNESIAN SETTLERS
II. CONSTRUCTION OF THE MOAIS
III. INTERNAL CONFLICT AND CHANGES IN THE MOAIS
IV. EUROPEAN ARRIVAL, DUTCH, BRITISH, FRENCH, AND SPANISH
EXPLORERS & NAVIGATORS.
V. SLAVERY PERIOD:
 1859-1862 , OVER A THOUSAND RAPA NUI ISLANDERS WERE
TRADED AS SLAVES IN PERU TO WORK ON THE GUANO MINES. 
 THE BISHOP FROM TAHITI PROTESTED AND THEY WERE
RETURNED TO THE ISLAND BUT MANY HAD DIED FROM DISEASE, 
MALNUTRITION, AND HARD WORK.
 THEY BROUGHT SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC WHO KILLED MANY OF
THE SURVIVING ISLANDERS BY 1877.
 FROM A POPULATION OF ABOUT 10,000, ONLY A FEW SURVIVED.
CHRONOLOGY
 RISE OF CIVILIZATION: 7TH CENTURY WHEN A GREAT CULTURE
OF MOAI BUILDERS ROSE, IT REQUIRED A LARGE LABOR FORCE. 
 FALL OF CIVILIZATION:
 1500, SHIFT IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC & POLITICAL STRUCTURES
(INTERNAL STRIFE, OPEN CONFLICT)
 1600, DECREASE IN THE MOAI CONSTRUCTION, NEW
SYMBOLISMS.
 1722, THE DUTCH EXPLORER JACOB ROGGEVEEN ARRIVED
ON EASTERN SUNDAY, NAMING THE ISLAND.
 1770 THE SPANISH EXPLORER AGÜERA LANDED ON THE
ISLAND, HE SAW THE MOAIS WITH THEIR TOPKNOTS.
 1774, CAPTAIN JAMES COOK VISITED THE ISLAND (NO
EVIDENCE OF MOAI CULT).
EUROPEAN 
EXPLORERS
FOUNDATION MYTH
THE MYTH TALKS ABOUT THE EXODUS OF A KING, HOTU
MATUA, FROM HIVA IN THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS, WHO
TRAVELLED IN A DOUBLE CANOE, LOADED WITH A SUPPLY
OF CHICKENS AND TARO ROOTS, EASTWARD.
“OUR HOMELAND MARAE RENGA LAY A DISTANT JOURNEY TO
THE WEST. THERE HOTU MATUA OUR KING WAS ONE OF THE
CHIEFS, OROI WAS HIS RIVAL. THERE WAS A WAR BETWEEN
THEIR TRIBES. THEN HOTU MATUA’S TATTOOOER, HAUMAKA, 
HAD A PROPHETIC DREAM ABOUT A VOLCANIC ISLAND WITH
FINE BEACHES, AND HOTU MATUA THOUGHT: THERE IS A
PROMISE IN THIS DREAM OF HAUMAKA’S. HE THEREFORE
SENT AWAY SIX MEN TO FIND THAT LAND”.
MYTHS & EVIDENCES
PREHISTORY: 
 ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST INHABITANTS FROM POLYNESIA, 
300-400 A.D; THEY WERE FARMERS, FISHERMEN, AND
BUILDERS.
 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SIMILARITIES (ARTIFACTS SUCH AS FISH-
HOOKS & ADZES, ART STYLE) AND LINGUISTIC EVIDENCES
(GODS’ NAMES), AS WELL AS THE DNA, CONFIRM THE
POLYNESIAN ORIGIN OF SETTLERS.
 ACCORDING TO THE TRADITIONS, THE ANCESTRAL CHIEF
HOTU MATUA, DIVIDED THE ISLAND AMONG HIS SIX SONS, 
EACH OF WHOM THEN FOUNDED HIS OWN LINE  THE SIX
CLANS OF RAPA NUI.
POLYNESIAN DOUBLE-HULLED CANOE
 SOME ANTHROPOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT MISUSE OF THE ENVIRONMENT MAY
HAVE HELPED CAUSE THE COLLAPSE OF SOME CIVILIZATIONS. 
 THE RAPA NUI CIVILIZATION OF EASTER ISLAND COLLAPSED BECAUSE OF
DEFORESTATION. 
 RESIDENTS CUT DOWN ALMOST ALL THE ISLAND'S PALM TREES BEFORE NEW
ONES COULD GROW. 
 TREES WERE USED FOR BUILDING HOMES AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURES, 
AND WERE BURNED FOR FIREWOOD. 
 TREES WERE ALSO USED TO CONSTRUCT TOOLS, SUCH AS LARGE SLEDS, TO
TRANSPORT HUGE CEREMONIAL STONE STRUCTURES KNOWN AS MOAI.
 THE RAPA NUI CIVILIZATION HAD NO TRADING PARTNERS, SO THEY COULD
NOT TRADE FOR TREES OR FINISHED GOODS, SUCH AS CHOPPED FIREWOOD
OR WOODEN SLEDS. 
 BY THE TIME EUROPEANS ARRIVED ON THE ISLAND IN 1722, THE PALM
FORESTS OF EASTER ISLAND WERE GONE.
FALL OF RAPA NUI CIVILIZATION
 OVERPOPULATION (100,000 INHABITANTS)
 OVERUSE OF NATURAL RESOURCES:
 FOOD SHORTAGES AND FAMINE
 SOIL DEPLETION, DESERTIZATION, AND EROSION. 
 COMPLETE DEFORESTATION, TREELESS LANDSCAPE
 END OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES.
 SOCIAL UNREST AND WARFARE.
 IN THE POIKE’S PENINSULA THERE IS A DITCH WITH EVIDENCE THAT HERE
TOOK PLACE A BATTLE BETWEEN THE LONG AND THE SHORT EARS CLANS; 
LAYERS OF FIRE DATED 1660S WHICH MATCHES TO THE ISLANDERS ORAL
TRADITION OF A VIOLENT SOCIAL CLASH THAT PUT AN END TO THE
CIVILIZATION.
 REBELLION OF COMMONERS AGAINST THE ABUSES OF THE ROYAL CLAN. 
THE SHORT EARS DESTROYED THE MOAIS AND KILLED THE RULERS, THREAT
OF ANARCHY.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC 
ORGANIZATION
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
 DIVISION BETWEEN THE LONG EARS CLAN (ELITE) AND THE SHORT
EARS CLAN (SERFS).
 LONG EARS: THE ELITE MEMBERS AND RULERS.
 SHORT EARS: A LARGE COMMONERS CLASS WITHOUT
PRIVILEGES. 
 PRIVILEGES: FOOD, HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION, CLOTHING AND
HAIR STYLE, TATTOOS, BODY AND FACIAL PAINTING, NECKLACES, 
ETC.
 THEY WERE ORGANIZED IN SIX CLANS WHO OCCUPIED DIFFERENT
TERRITORIES.
 CLAN ENDOGAMY (PARTNERS WITHIN THE CLAN).
 EASTERN ISLAND INHABITANTS LIVED SCATTERED IN EXTENDED
FAMILY GROUPS, EACH WITH ITS OWN AHU AND MOAIS.
HIERARCHY
 ELITE = ARIKI-PAKA
 CHIEF: ARIKI MAU (SACRED POWERS)
 RED WAS CONSIDERED THE ROYAL COLOR.
 ROYAL CLAN: ARIKI HENUA, THE “KINGS OF
THE LAND”
 HIGH PRIEST: IVI-ATUA
 WARRIORS: MATATO’A
 COMMONERS = HURU-MANU: PEASANTS, 
CANOE MAKERS, AND STONE CARVERS.
 SLAVES = KIOS
MEN AND WOMEN 
ROLES
EDUCATION
• MEN WERE IN CHARGE OF
THE PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES
AND WOMEN WERE
ORIENTED TOWARD
HOUSEHOLD CHORES AND
CHILD REARING. 
• SOME ACTIVITIES, SUCH AS
FISHING, WERE TAPU OR
FORBIDDEN FOR WOMEN.
• SOME FOODS WERE
EXCLUSIVELY CONSUMED BY
THE ELITE. 
• SKILLS WERE TRANSMITTED
FROM GENERATION TO
GENERATION.
• ELITE MEMBERS WERE
TAUGHT THE KOHAU
RONGO-RONGO BY THE
MAORI RONGO-RONGO IN
THE ART OF READING AND
WRITING THE (SCRIPTURE IN
THE WOODEN TABLETS.)
• SYSTEM OF MASTER-
APPRENTICES FOR LEARNING
THE DIFFERENT TRADES.
CLOTHING
 MEN WORE A LOINCLOTH.
 TAPA CLOTH MADE OUT OF
THE BARK OF THE
MULBERRY TREE.
 ELITE CLOTHING AND
HAIRSTYLE WERE MORE
ELABORATED. 
 ELABORATED BODY
PAINTING AND TATTOOS, 
WORE BY MEN & WOMEN, 
HEAD TO TOE, FRONT AND
BACK.
 NECKLACES AND EARRING.
HOUSING
 THE ARIKI-MAU LIVED ISOLATED IN THE CHIEF HOUSE, THAT
WAS CONSIDER TAPU (SACRED) IN FRONT OF THE
CEREMONIAL CENTERS.
 ELITE HOUSES WERE LOCATED IN FRONT OF THE AHU
(CEREMONIAL CENTERS).
 THE COMMONERS LIVE IN STONE HOUSES CALLED TUPA AND
HARE MOA (“CHICKEN HOUSE”), PARTIALLY SUBTERRANEAN, 
LONG OVAL SHAPE AS AN INVERTED CANOE, UP TO 6 METERS
LONG, WERE TRIBAL MEMBERS SLEPT.
 HUTS ENCLOSED BY A PALISADE OR DEFENSIVE WALL.
 CAVES, USED AS BURIAL SITES AND SHELTER DURING
WARFARE PERIODS.
 THE EASTERN ISLANDERS WERE EXPERT MASONRY
BUILDERS: TOMBS AND CREMATORIES, CIRCULAR
ENCLOSURES TO GROW MULBERRY TREES, CONICAL TOWERS
TO MARK LAND BOUNDARIES, MASONRY CAVES, AND CHICKEN
COOPS.
ROUND HOUSES HUTS
ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION
 AGRICULTURE & DOMESTICATED ANIMALS:
 INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE, SLASH AND BURN
SYSTEM TO CLEAR THE FIELDS.
 USE OF IRRIGATION CANALS AND DITCHES.
 DOMESTICATION OF CHICKENS, PIGS, DOGS. 
 USE OF WOOD FOR FUEL AND BUILDING.
 SOIL EROSION AND DEFORESTATION ENDED WITH
THE ECOLOGICAL BALANCE OF THE ISLAND. 
 PALM FOREST DEPLETED (FOR ROLLERS TO
TRANSPORT THE MOAIS AND CANOE BUILDING).
DIET
 SWEET POTATO (KUMARA),
 SUGAR CANE, 
 BANANAS, 
 GOURD, 
 YAM, 
 MULBERRY (PAPER TREE),
 FISH (LOBSTERS, EELS, TUNA, 
CRAYFISH), 
 HENS AND CHICKENS, 
 BIRDS, 
 TURTLES, RATS
TRADES
• DIVISION OF LABOR: ROYAL CLAN, MOAI BUILDERS, PRIESTS, 
PEASANTS, FISHERMEN, PALM CUTTERS, CANOE MAKERS, 
WARRIORS (SOLDIERS AND ROYAL GUARD), ETC.
• TUFUNGA = POLYNESIAN EXPERT IN ANY PROFESSION.
• SYSTEM OF MASTER-APPRENTICE TEACHING PROCESS.
• THE MOAI WERE CARVED BY RESPECTED CRAFTSMEN
CALLED MAORI, WHO BELONGED TO CRAFT GUILDS; THEIR
SKILLS, TOOLS, AND RITUALS PASSED FROM FATHER TO
SON.
• THEIR SERVICES WERE SOUGHT BY IMPORTANT CHIEFS
WHO PAID IN FOOD.
 MARKETS:
 EXCHANGE SYSTEM AMONG THE CLANS AND THEIR
PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES.
 TRIBUTE PAID TO THE ELITES (FOOD, RAW
MATERIALS, AND SERVICE). 
 REDISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
 POSSIBLE COMMERCIAL NETWORKS WITH OTHER
POLYNESIAN ISLANDS BY SEA.
 TRANSPORT SYSTEM:
 WOOD CANOES MADE OF TOTORA.
 THE CHIEF WAS TRANSPORTED IN A LITER.
POLITICAL 
ORGANIZATION
 POLITICAL SYSTEM:
 CHIEFDOM: ROYAL CLAN AND SUBORDINATED
CLANS.
 HEREDITARY SYSTEM OF CHIEFDOMS BASED ON
CLANS AND KINSHIP TIES.
 PRIMOGENITURE SYSTEM: THE ATARIKI (“SHADOW
OF THE KING”), THE FIRST BORN SON SUCCEEDED
THE FATHER WHEN HE GOT MARRIED.
 MAIN AUTHORITY AND FUNCTIONS:
 ARIKI-MAU, THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF. 
 HE WAS A SACRED FIGURE THAT HAD MANA
(SPIRITUAL POWER), HE LIVED IN ISOLATION.
 FUNCTIONS: PROVIDER OF BENEFITS AND
PROTECTION, ABUNDANCE OF CROPS, FERTILITY
OF THE LANDS, PLENTY OF FISHING, BIRDS, AND
TURTLES.
 TANGATA HONOU OR MATA’S CHIEF: HE EXERTED
POLITICAL OR SECULAR POWER; HE WAS ELECTED.
ELITES & AUTHORITIES
RAPA NUI QUEEN
AUTHORITIES
 GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND FUNCTIONS:
 IVI-ATUA OR HIGH PRIEST: HE WAS THE VOICE OF THE
ARIKI-MAU AND THE ONE WHO COMMUNICATED THE WISH OF
THE DEITIES.
 WARRIORS: WERE IN CHARGE OF MAKING THAT THE CHIEF
AND HIGH PRIEST ORDERS WERE ACCOMPLISHED. 
 MESSENGERS: TO CARRY CHIEFS AND PRIESTS ORDERS
AROUND THE TERRITORY
 CLANS’ CHIEFS: WERE IN CHARGE OF EACH CLAN AND
THEIR TERRITORY.
 TANGATA MANU, THE WINNER OF THE BIRDMAN
COMPETITION, HE AND HIS CLAN HAD PRIVILEGES AND
POLITICAL POWER FOR ONE YEAR.
 LEGAL SYSTEM:
 IT WAS BASED ON THE TABOOS (TAPU): FORBIDDEN FOOD, 
ACTIVITIES, BEHAVIOR), 
 WHO BROKE A TABOO COULD BE PUNISHED (CORPORAL
PUNISHMENT, DEATH, OR EXILE.)
THE BIRD MAN CULT
 THE BIRD MAN CULT DISPLACED STATUE-CARVING AS THE MAIN RELIGIOUS
EXPRESSION IN EASTERN ISLAND.
 IN ORONGO, THE MOST IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS RITUAL WAS ANNUALLY HELD
THE FESTIVAL OF THE BIRD MAN, PRACTICED UP TO THE 1860’S.
 EVERY YEAR A REPRESENTATIVE OF EACH CLAN COMPETED IN THE KANGATA
MANU OR BIRD CULT. 
 CANDIDATES REPRESENTED THE GOD IN HUMAN FORM, THEY HIDE IN CAVES
UNTIL THEY RETURNED WITH THE EGG OF THE MANUTARA BIRD AND SWAM
BACK THROUGH THE REEDS AND SHARKS, AND CLIMBED THE CLIFFS.
 THE FIRST SWIMMER TO RETURN WITH AN EGG WOULD SECURE CONTROL
OVER THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ISLAND’S RESOURCES FOR HIS CLAN THE
NEXT YEAR. 
 INITIALLY, THE MOAI CARVERS WERE DENIED THE RIGHT TO COMPETE FOR
CHIEFDOM.
 THE CONTENDERS HAVE TO BRING THE FIRST MANUTARA EGG OF
THE SEASONS FROM THE MOTU NUI ISLET.
 THE PRIZE FOR THE WINNER IS THE RIGHT TO BE ELECTED AS THE
NEW KING FOR A YEAR.
 THE CONTEST CONSISTED ON RUNNING, SWIMMING, SURFING, AND
CLIMBING; IT REQUIRED A SPECIAL TRAINING FOR THE ATHLETES.
 RISK OF SHARKS, DROWNING, FALLING DOWN FROM THE STEEPED
CLIFFS.
 THE CONTENDER HAD HIS HAIR, EYE-BROWS, AND EYELASHES
SHAVED OFF, HIS FACE PAINTED IN RED & BLACK. 
 HE HAD TO LIVE ABSOLUTELY ALONE IN A THATCH HOUSE FOR A
YEAR TO ACQUIRE WISDOM AND POWER; AFTER A YEAR HE
BECAME ONE OF THE RESPECTED ELDER.
RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATION
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION
 DEITIES:
 MAKE-MAKE: POWERFUL GOD, CREATOR OF THE WORLD
(INCARNATED IN THE SEABIRD MANU TARA); HE WILL EAT
THE SOULS OF THE DEAD.
 TIKI: GODDESS OF DESTRUCTION
 UOKE: GOD OF DEVASTATION
 TANE: FIRST MAN, ASSOCIATED TO TREES, FOREST, BIRDS, 
PATRON OF WOOD CARVERS AND OTHER CRAFTS
 AKU-AKU: THE GUARDIAN OF THE SACRED FAMILY CAVES
 BELIEF IN THE POLYNESIAN GODS, DIVINE ANCESTORS, 
AND HEROES: TANGAROA, RONGO, TU, TANE.
PRIESTHOOD & SHRINES
RELIGIOUS SPECIALISTS RELIGIOUS SHRINES
 IVI-ATUA, THE HIGHEST RANKING
PRIEST, POWER CLOSE TO THE
ARIKI-MAU.
 COMMUNICATION WITH THE DEITIES
AND INTERPRETER OF THEIR
ORDERS (TABOOS, CELESTIAL
SIGNALS, ETC.)
 SIMILAR POWER TO THE ONE OF THE
ARIKI-MAU
 IN CHARGE OF THE WRITING
SYSTEM, THE RITUALS, AND
CEREMONIES.
 SHAMANS AS DOCTORS & HEALERS.
 AHUS, THERE ARE 250 BUILT
AS RELIGIOUS CENTERS, 
STONE PLATFORMS, RAMPS, 
AND PLAZAS WHERE CHIEFS
AND PRIEST PERFORMED
IMPORTANT RITUALS AND
CEREMONIES.
 THEY HAD AN
ASTRONOMICAL ORIENTATION
(SOLSTICES & EQUINOXES).
 MOAIS WERE ERECTED
OVER THE AHU TO HONOR
RESPECTED ANCESTORS.
ASTRONOMICAL ORIENTATION
RITUALS AND CEREMONIES
 MANA: SPIRITUAL POWER HELD BY THE ARIKI-MAU AND THE MOAIS.
 MOAIS:
 THEY STAND ERECT AS COLUMNS OR PILLARS SEPARATING THE SKY (MALE) 
FROM THE EARTH (FEMALE), THE COSMIC PARENTS, ALLOWING LIFE TO
DEVELOP. 
 THEY SYMBOLICALLY UNITE THE NATURAL AND COSMIC WORLDS AND PROVIDE
ACCESS TO THEM FOR BOTH GODS AND HUMANS. 
 THE MOAI MEDIATED BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY, PEOPLE AND CHIEFS, CHIEFS
AND GODS.
 CANNIBALISM: HUMAN SACRIFICES DURING THE CIVIL WAR PERIODS.
 TABOOS: FOOD AND MARRIAGE OUT OF THE CLAN. MECHANISM OF SOCIAL
CONTROL, UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR AS CHALLENGE TO THE GODS.
 PROPHECY OF THE WHITE CANOE, AN ICEBERG, THAT IT WILL TAKE THE ROYAL
LEADER TO THE FINAL VOYAGE TO THE “SUNKEN LANDS”.
 RITUAL DANCES AND MONKEYS AS PETS.
SCIENCE
& 
TECHNOLOGY 
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
 TECHNOLOGY:
 CANOE CONSTRUCTIONS: TOTORA
BOATS
 STONE TOOLS AND ROPES FOR MOAI
CARVING.
 CALENDAR BASED ON MOON CYCLES: 
 BIRTHDAYS CALCULATED BY THE
NUMBER OF SPRING. 
 SYSTEM TO PREDICT THE FUTURE.
 KNOWLEDGE OF CARDINAL POINTS, 
STARS AND SEASONS.
 EXPERTISE IN MARITIME EXPLORATION, 
CANOE CONSTRUCTION, MOAI CARVING, 
AND TRANSPORTATION.
WRITING SYSTEM
 PETROGLYPHS
 RONGO-RONGO:
o NON-DECIPHERED
WRITING SYSTEM BASED
ON GLYPHS.
o ABOUT 120 SYMBOLS
REPRESENTING BIRDS, 
FISH, GODS, PLANTS, 
AND GEOMETRIC
SHAPES. 
o ON WOODEN TABLETS.
o PRIEST KNOWLEDGE.
ART
THE MOAIS
 THE EASTERN ISLAND IS FAMOUS FOR ITS 887 STONE STATUES.
 THEY WERE MADE AROUND A.D. 1200-1600, THEY ARE FROM 1 
METER TO OVER 10 METERS TALL AND WEIGH UP TO 82 TONS, 
CARVED OUT OF A SINGLE STONE BLOCK.
 THEY WERE PROBABLY MADE TO SHOW POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL
POWER.
 EACH OF THE STATUES REPRESENTED A SPECIFIC ANCESTORS AND
HAD A NAME; THERE ARE MARKINGS ON THEIR BACKS, PERHAPS
TATTOOS.
 THESE HUGE STONES WERE LIFTED UP THE HILLS. 
 MODERN RESEARCHES THINK THE STATUES WERE MOVED USING
LOGS AND ROPES.
 ONE THEORY IS THAT OVER TIME, ISLANDERS MADE SO MANY
STATUES THAT THEY DESTROYED ALL THE TREES.
 THE PROBLEM IS THAT TODAY THERE ARE NO TREES ON THE ISLAND.
MOAIS: MONUMENTAL ART
 THE MOAI ARE HUGE ROCK
STATUES ON EASTER
ISLAND, 3,510 KILOMETERS
(2,180 MILES) OFF THE
COAST OF CHILE. 
 CIVILIZATION ON EASTER
ISLAND, ALSO CALLED RAPA
NUI, HAD ALREADY
COLLAPSED DUE TO LACK OF
RESOURCES BY THE TIME
THE ISLAND WAS EXPLORED
BY EUROPEANS IN THE
1700S.
 THE MOAIS: THERE ARE OVER 1,000 MEGALITHIC STONE
STATUES, ANTHROPOMORPHIC FIGURES, SOME ERECTED, 
OTHER SIT.
 THE TYPICAL STATUE IS RECTANGULAR, MEASURES 13.3 
FEET TALL AND WEIGHS ABOUT 13.8 TONS.
 THE STATUES ARE NOT PORTRAITS OF THE CHIEFS, BUT
ICONS ABOUT GENEALOGY, GENERATIONS, STATUS, AND
RESPECT.
 SOME STATUES HAVE SYMBOLS CARVED IN THEIR BACKS
THAT REPRESENT SACRED, CHIEF AUTHORITY.
 LAPILLI TUFF, VOLCANIC MATERIAL SUITED FOR
SCULPTURE AND VOLCANIC CINDER TO MAKE THE PUKAO
(TOPKNOTS) AT THE HEAD OF THE STATUES.
 THE EARLY ISLANDERS CALLED THEM ARINGO ORA, MEANING
“LIVING FACES”.
 MOST STATUES HAVE TOPKNOTS, RED STONE HATS THAT
WEIGHT SEVERAL TONS. 
 THE EYES WERE MADE OF WHITE CORAL.
 MORE THAN 200 MOAIS IN VARIOUS STAGES OFCARVING
WERE LEFT ON THE SLOPES OF THE QUARRY AT RANO
RARAKU VOLCANO.
 THE MOAIS ON THE COAST DO NOT FACE THE SEA.
 WHEN CAPTAIN COOK WAS ON THE EASTERN ISLAND MOST
OF THE STATUES WERE ON THE FLOOR ONTO THEIR FACES.
 PROBABLY WARRIORS FROM DIFFERENT TRIBES DESTROYED
THEIR ENEMIES’ MOAIS.
PUKAO
TRANSPORTATION
 THE MOAI WERE ALMOST COMPLETELY CARVED AT QUARRIES LOCATED
ON THE SLOPES OF VOLCANOES, BEFORE BEING TRANSPORTED TO
THEIR FINAL DESTINATION.
 APPARENTLY, THEY WERE MOVED IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION WITH THE
HEAD FORWARD BY A NETWORK OF PATHS THAT BORDERED THE COAST.
 A LARGE NUMBER OF STATUES IS STILL IN QUARRIES OR AT ITS
PERIPHERY, WHICH WOULD IMPLY THAT THE TRANSPORT PROCESS WAS
THE MOST DIFFICULT PART.
 THE CARVED MOAIS WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE AHUS (BY SLEDS OR
ROLLING TRUNKS.)
 THE ISLANDERS BELIEVED THAT THE STATUES WALKED UP THE HILL.
MOVING THE MOAIS
TYPES OF MOAIS
 ONCE IN THE AHU, THE MOAI
WERE GRADUALLY PLACED
UPRIGHT ON THE PLATFORM.
 THE MOST COMPLEX
ENGINEERING PROJECT WAS
SURELY TO PLACE ON THE MOAI
HEADS CYLINDRICAL BLOCKS OF
RED SCORIA THAT WEAR AS HATS.
 THE SCULPTURAL ACTIVITY
APPARENTLY WAS THE RESULT OF
SEVERAL TEAMS INDEPENDENT, 
SUGGESTING THE EXISTENCE OF
AN INTERNAL COMPETITION.
AHU: SACRED PLATFORMS
 AROUND 690 CE, AN ECONOMIC
SURPLUS ALLOWED THE BEGINNING OF
A MONUMENTAL RELIGIOUS
ARCHITECTURE IN THE COASTAL
SECTOR.
 THE AHUS (SACRED SHRINES) ARE
RECTANGULAR, STONE PLATFORMS, 
SOME OF THE MOAIS WERE LOCATED
ON THEM.
 THEY ARE CHARACTERIZED BY A
PATTERN OF ALIGNED AROUND A
CENTRAL PLATFORM RAMPS WITH SIDE
WINGS AND BEACH ROCKS PAVEMENT, 
FLAT AND ELONGATED, FILLED WITH
GRAVEL.
MORE RAPA NUI ART
 THE RAPA NUI CULTURE HAS A WIDE RANGE OF OTHER
ARTISTIC MANIFESTATIONS, INCLUDING FIGURINES THAT
WERE OBTAINED OF THE TOROMIRO WOOD: MOAI KAVAKAVA
AND MOAI PA 'APA' TO HIRO.
 THEY WERE COPIES OF SPIRITS CALLED AKUAKU AND WERE
CONSIDERED SACRED.
 THERE IS ALSO A WIDE VARIETY OF MOTIFS AND FIGURES
USED IN FESTIVE CEREMONIES.
 THERE ARE SCULPTURES IN WOOD OF FISH AND LIZARDS AND
THE RONA OR BIRD-MEN.
 THEY USED PERFUMES, TATTOOS, BODY PAINTING AND IS
DILATED THE LOBE OF THE EARS AS A SIGN OF PRESTIGE.
PETROGLIPHS
 ANOTHER IMPORTANT ARTISTIC MANIFESTATION ARE
VERY ABUNDANT ON THE ISLAND, ROCK
ENGRAVINGS.
 ON BASS AND ON RELIEF OVER ROCKS ARE
PERMANENTLY IMPRINTED DESIGNS OF FISH, BIRDS, 
TURTLES, VESSELS, HUMAN FIGURES OF BIG EYES, 
THE MAN BIRD, MAKE MAKE GOD, ETC.
 MANY OF THESE MOTIFS ARE REPEATED IN MURALS
TO THE INTERIOR OF THE HOUSES, AS WELL AS IN
OTHER PARTS OF POLYNESIA (HAWAII, NEW
ZEALAND OR MARQUESAS ISLANDS).
MOVIES
http://gnula.nu/drama/ver-rapa-nui-
1994-online/
https://www.peliculastoday.com/kon-tiki/